My 30 year fight with food and anorexia.
Back in my late teens I had anorexia although at the time I had no idea what that was. It didn't develop because of some body image thing, I was tall and thin and as a bloke didn't think much about my body. I just fell out of love with food and eating and over a few months the amount I ate just got less until it was taking me all day at college to eat a bag of crisps.
My parents didn't realise I'd stopped eating as during the week I'd be at college where they thought I was eating and at weekends I'd be out and about.
It all came to a head one Saturday when I walked downstairs and mum was cooking bacon, the smell of it made me feel sick and I had to run to the toilet to be sick. My mum was instantly suspicious and we talked, well she asked questions and I answered. I'd not even realised that my eating had become a problem but I had got to the point where I just couldn't eat as my stomach had shrunk so much. Within an hour we were down at the local health food shop in the next village and she had a bottle of tablets to increase my appetite and a load of those milkshakes that body builders use to bulk up.
(me in my early 20's spaced out at the Glastonbury festival)
Over the next couple of months my mum watched my eating like a hawk and cooked me a meal every night that was followed by a milkshake. I had to have 3 of those milkshakes every day and it must have cost my parents a fortune but I began to be able to eat more.
The problem was I didn't rediscover a liking for eating and food.
During my time at University my parents sent me regular food parcels but even with food in my cupboards my eating habbits began to slip back until I passed out in a pub. One of my friends knew of my past problem and had met my parents a few times and she threatened to phone my mum and tell her I wasn't eating unless I sorted myself out so I again began to force myself to eat.
Even now as a married man with kids I have to remind myself to eat as it's not that often I feel hungry and will go all day without eating until I cook the evening meal. I find that cooking helps me eat more as I love to cook and experiment with food, but it's cooking for others, not myself. While others enjoy their meals I just eat it. I know when I've cooked something that tastes nice but I get more enjoyment from cooking it than eating it.
I often go though stages where I really don't want to eat anything but I've got a family to look after so I force myself to eat something.
Most people think anorexia is about young girls and body image but it's not, with me I just don't enjoy eating food.
I wonder... Seldom are things so simple as to have only one cause. But being deficient in zinc can cause lack of interest in food. If that is part of your picture, it would be fairly simple to find out and correct. Worth investigating, anyway.
Thanks, i can always get some zinc tablets and give it a go.
It's really brave for you to open up about your past experiences and definitely not easy so well done on being so forthcoming. x
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You are a good man, you are a strong man!
In retrospect I look back at my gaunt chops, on my 2000 uni card, I'd been likeened to some one on hard drugs, maybe I raved too much and forgot to eat or maybe it was the 90s, I seem to remember most people looking similar to me - Uni changed that now I'm twice the size, not fat just bigger
I'm the same, my jeans waist size has gone up from 30 to 34 although I think a lot of that is from drink and reaching 'that age' rather than food.
Yes it all changed at 35 for me, have to watch my diet to keep the figure I want, unlike the 90s - all part of the journey 😎
Glad to read your post about anorexia, I have been combating with it myself and can totally relate to what you have shared.
It might sound really weird, hilarious or irrelevant.. but it's all right. At times, weird things in life turn out to be our very best decisions we ever made... so yes, my suggestion to you here is to try out the traditional, spicy Asian foods. I experienced something similar, may be to a lower extent than yours, but I can surely relate to your aforementioned words. So what I did was I increased the spice intake in my diet.. I am from Lahore, a city known to have the best taste in foods as compared to the rest of Pakistan. You need to try stuff like Biryani, Karahi, Beef/Chicken Barbecue, and other forms of Pakistani foods..
Trust me, if this doesn't brings back your appetite for food, nothing else will. I am someone who always has been against medications of all sorts.. I have been there myself to some extent a few years back, to me it's just finding the right combination of what makes you happy when you eat. Just like humor, if food doesn't bring a smile on your face, there is something seriously wrong with either, the way it has been cooked, or, that stuff just isn't for you.
So if you haven't already tried it, I would strongly suggest to add up some more spice in your food and give a try to these traditional sub-continental dishes. It did work for me, I am quite positive that it will work for you, too! :)
I have tried many types of food from around the world and stronger flavours at least add some taste. I think part of not enjoying food is becoming bored with the same type of food so I try to mix things up when I cook or if we get a meal delivered.
Yeah that's great.. you're doing the right thing here. But trust me, you will develop the appetite for spicy-er foods and once you fall in love with even a few variations of meat or veggies cooked in "desi" style as we call it here, your food appetite loss will go away before you even know it!
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Ini sangat menakjubkan, dalam waktu dekan anda mendapatkan vote sekian banya
Thank you for sharing this. I'm not anorexic but I am a recovering bulemic. My mom used to be a model and my sister is super skinny so there were always eyes on whatever I ate.
I met someone that was like you; no desire to eat whatsoever and I remember being extremely envious until she revealed that her hair falls out and she's always tired but she just doesn't care to eat.
Did you experience any true negative reactions, other than fainting?
The main one was fainting and blacking out, I did have trouble with my hair but I guess I was far luckier than many in it didn't leave me with any long term health problems.